Windows 10: how to free up space on the hard drive

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FrançoisBEDIN

Journalist

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If you're running out of space on your disk, don't panic! There are plenty of simple ways to get some air back. Here is our guide.

Horror, you have no more space on your hard drive or SSD! You then have two solutions: buy a disk with a larger capacity or clean up to recover precious gigabytes. Here are our tips for going digital:

1 - Empty the trash

This may seem obvious... But sometimes you forget! When you delete files in Windows, they are usually moved to a specific system folder: the Recycle Bin. It must therefore be emptied regularly. To do this, right-click on the icon placed on the desktop and choose Empty Trash from the context menu.

2 - Delete temporary files

Type storage in the search box near the Start button and click Storage in the list of results.

Click Change how we release space.

Make sure the Delete temporary files box is checked and click the Clean Now button. You can also toggle the Storage Adviser switch to On to delete automatically when you run out of space.

3 - Perform advanced cleaning

To go further in the elimination of unnecessary files, launch the file explorer and right click on the disk drive. Then select Properties from the context menu.

Click Disk Cleanup and check the boxes of the files you want to delete. You can also click the Clean up system files button to delete even more data (Windows log, old OS version, previous update installations, etc.).

Click the OK button to start the operation.

4 - Determine which elements take up the most space

How do you know which files are taking up the most space on your disk? Go to the Storage section of the settings as in step 2 and in the Local storage area, click on your disk drive. A display shows you how much space different types of data take up, for example music, pictures or videos.

This lets you know which folder you can save space in, for example by moving large videos to an external drive.

5 - Uninstall apps

You may no longer need certain applications that are on your hard drive and taking up space. To uninstall them, type applications in the search box and click Add or Remove Programs in the list of results.

You then access the list of apps present which you can sort by name, date of installation and especially by size by clicking on the Sort by list. To remove an app, click on its name and then on the Uninstall button.

6 - Remove functions from Windows 10

Do you know that Internet Explorer 11 is still present in Windows 10? As well as other functions that you may not need. To remove them, you have two methods. The first is to click on the mention Manage optional features in the Apps and features section, accessible in step 5.

You then access new functions that you can uninstall, for example Windows Media Player or additional languages ​​installed in addition to French (also accessible by going to the Region and language section of the settings).

The other method is to click on Programs and Features in the Apps and Features section. Then click Turn Windows features on or off.

You then have access to a list of functions. Uncheck their box to disable them.

Finally, click on the OK button to validate the changes.

7 - Use cleaning software

If you want to go further in cleaning your hard drive, there is software designed for this task, the best known of which is CCleaner.

He is not the only one and we have made a selection of the best free software to clean your PC.

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